Explosive



Patented Dec. 31, 1929 v UNITED srATEs LEON W. BABCOGK, OF KENVIL, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO HERCULES POWDER COM- PANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE No Drawing. Original application filed September 4, 1926, Serial No. 133,728. Divided and this application filed May 4, 1927. Serial No. 188,867.

My invention relates to an improvement in explosives and more particularly to commercial explosives of the type which include a carbonaceous material as an ingredient.

In the manufacture of explosives and more particularly explosives such as are used for commercial purposes, for example, in coal mining, it is desirable that the explosive have as low a density as possible, consistent with efiiciency, in order that any given unit of the explosive will occupy a maximum of space.

Thus in the mining of coal, it is desirable to distribute a givencharge in a bore hole of maximum depth in order to distribute its force so that it will break down the coal rather than shatter it.

In order to produce an explosive of minimum density, efforts have been made to produce low density carbonaceous material,

which when admixed with explosive ingredients, for example, sodium and ammonium nitrate, the density of which is relatively fixed, will produce an explosive of relatively low density. As a result of such efi'orts,

2 natural pulps have been treated for a lowering of their density, for example, by sub jecting such pulps to treatment with a solution of causticsoda, to effect chemical disintegration of the pulp, certain low density pulps have been selected and synthetic pulps have been produced. However, only a minimum of success has been achieved, since the pulps of natural low density have proved to e so absorbent of the nitroglycerine, included in such explosives as a sensitizer, as to render the explosive insensitive to detonation with the commercialblasting cap, and the pulps treated by known methods, i. e., as with caustic soda solution or by steaming and drying, while possessing lowered density, are not of the requisite low density for the production of an explosive responding to requirements and are of excessive absorbency due to the development of intracellular porosity by. the treatment.

Now it is the object of my invention to provide an explosive including as an ingredient a carbonaceous material, more particularly a pulp, which will be of a desirable low den 50 sity without undesirable porosity.

My invention contemplates an explosive including as a carbonaceous ingredient sugar cane pulp or the waste of sugar mills, known as bagasse, which comprises both the pith and fibre of sugar cane with a substantial proportion of fibre and preferably in approximately natural proportion, from which the sugar, or 111108, has been removed by the usual sugar mill practice, and which has been subected to a boiling treatment in water without the addition of any agents for its chemical treatment.

In the preparation of the bagasse for use 1n the explosive embodying my invention, the sugar IIllll Waste, or bagasse, comprising the pith and fibre of sugar cane, is first ground up relatively fine and then subjected to a boiling treatment in water for a period of say from 1560 minutes and finally dried. In the boiling treatment suflicient water should be used to thoroughly saturate and immerse the pulp and in the final drying it is desirable that mechanical agitation of the bagasse be avoided, in order to avoid compacting the fibres.

As illustrative of the treatment of the bagasse, several lots of bagasse were ground up relatively fine and vigorously boiled in about seventeen times their weight of water for periods of one hour. The bagasse comprised both the pith and fibre of sugar cane, from which the sugar, or juice, had been removed, and in their natural proportion, except for some loss, mainly of pith, by unavoidable air separation during the grinding operation.

The boiling treatment of the bagasse, which has a low initial porosity, has the effect of greatly lowering its density without undesirable increase of its absorbency, as by the development of intracellular porosity. The following table illustrates the effect of the boiling treatment on the several lots of bagasse Table A Lot number A B 0 Density before boiling Density alter boiling 1 hour-..

Density after boiling 15 minutes. Per cant change alter 1 hour From the above table it will be noted that regardless of the initial density of the bagasse treated, desirably low final density is obtained and from the following table it will be noted that regardless of the degree of fineness to which the bagasse. is reduced, by grinding, before it is subjected to the boiling treatment desirably low final density is obtained:

Table B A B C Percent Percent Percent On 20 mesh 0.0 1.4 0.6 On 30 mesh 10.2 58.1. 20.2 On 40 mesh 20.6 23.7 23.0 On mesh 31.9 14.2 25.6 On 80 mesh 10. 1, 1.7 5.8 On 100 mesh 9. 1 0.6 5.8 Through 100 mesh 1B. 1 1. 3 19.6

Explosives in accordance with my invention, including sugar cane pulp, or bagasse, are of lower density and higher cartridge count relative to similar explosives heretofore produced, as will be observed from the following table of comparison with dynamites of typical composition embodying my invention with similar dynamitesincluding carbonaceous materials heretofore known:

Table 0 Dynamite number 1 2 3 Nitrog'lyoerine or tetranitrodiglyoerine,

nitroglycol, etc

onium ititrete, coerse.

Velocity o! detonation, meters A domparison of the first two dynamites in the above table shows that the direct replacement of 6% of sugar cane pulp, or bagasse, by 6% of boiled sugar cane pulp, orbagasse, raised the number of cartridges per 100 lbs. by 21, while the restriction of carbonaceous material to boiled sugar cane pulp, or bagasse, only, as shown in the third dynamite, raised the number of catridges per 100 lbs. by 35, even though the total percentage of carbonaceous material was reduced from ten per cent to eight per cent.

In view of the fact that the porosity of the treated pulp, or bagasse, embodied in my ex plosive is not undesirably increased by the treatment, more especially because no intracellular porosity is developed, and in view of the relatively low porosity of the original bagasse, due to the presence naturally of a large proportion of fibre, the explosive according to my invention is of a desirablyhigh sensitivity and will retain its sensitiveness under unfavorable conditions and in storage.

It will be understood that in referring to sugar cane pulp, or bagasse, that I contemplate sugar mill waste or the sugar cane from ters Patent is which the sugar has been removed and include both the pith and fibre of sugar cane;

and it will be further understood that in referring to the use of bag-asse including both the pith and fibre in approximately natural proportions, and in which proportion I prefer to use it, I contemplate the pith and fibre in the proportions as found in sugar cane, from which the sugar has been removed, changed by such loss of pith, or fibre, or both as may occur as a result of the extraction of the sugar or in the shipping, grinding, etc. of the bagasse.

Itgwill be understood that my inventioncontemplates and includes any explosive in which a-carbonaceous material is or maybe properly included as an ingredient and that :uch explosive may include bagasse onlyor bagasse and another carbonaceous ingredient or ingredients, and that the bagasse may be utilized merely in mechanical admixture with other ingredients of suchexplosives, or it may be impregnated with one or more ingredients of an explosive.

This application is a division of the a plication filed by me September 4, 1926, erial No..133,728.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Let- 1. An explosive including an explosive ingredient and ground bagasse which has been swollen without substantial disintegration thereof by treatment with water, and the fibrous content of which is of substantially normal porosity. r

2. An explosive including an explosive ingredient and a carbonaceous material comprising bagasse which has been first ground to a desired fineness, then swelled without substantial disintegration thereof by treatment with water and finally dried without com )acting and the fibrous content of which ,is o substantially normal porosity.

V 3. An explosive including an explosive ingradient and ground bagasse including pith and fibre, which has been first ground to a desired fineness, then subjected to treatment with boiling water without substantial disintegration of the pith or fibre and finally dried without substantial compacting and the fibrous content of which is of substantially normal porosity.

4. An explosive including an explosive instantial disintegration and the fibrous content of which is of substantially normal porosity.

6. An explosive including ammonium nitrate, nitro-glycerine and bagasse, includ ing both pith and fibre, in approximately natural proportions, which has been ground,

then subjected to a boiling treatment with water without substantial disintegration or increasein the porosity thereof and finally dried without substantial compacting.

7. An explosive including an explosive ingredient and artificially swollen bagasse including both pith and fibre, the fibre being of substantially normal porosity.

In testimony of which invention, I have hereunto set my hand at Kenvil, N. J., on v this 22nd day of A ril, 1927.

L ON W. BABOOCK. 

